Jason Zuback One element I found all long hitters have in common is that they swing around a central axis. It's okay to move a bit off the ball in the backswing, but if you want to transfer the maximum amount of power into the ball, you can't sway too far back or forward. Also, you must get your right side all the way through the shot. Notice how my right shoulder and hip are shooting toward the target. This is a must!
There are a lot of elements that go into creating power, but none are more important than good balance and plenty of explosive torque.
Setup Is Key I always tee the ball well forward in my stance. This allows me to hit it with an ascending blow. No Roll Allowed Notice how my right wrist hasn't broken down in the takeaway. This is a strong position. A Wide Arc My arms are fully extended, which creates a wide arc for the club to travel along. Turn, Turn, Turn I'm not the most flexible person, but my shoulders are clearly working around my body.
Shift Your Weight A lot of players place too much weight on their front side. Here it's moved to my right leg. Go Long The club is well past parallel, but that's okay with me. This makes my swing longer and more powerful. Squatting Rights Notice how both knees are bent in a squatting position. Tiger Woods makes this same move. In Storage I've retained the angle between the shaft and my left arm well. This stores energy until I release it.
Post Up A lot of players let their front leg buckle, which is a big mistake. Here my left leg is posted up nicely. Stay Behind It You can clearly see that my head is behind where the ball was at impact. This creates leverage. Knockout Punch My right side has powered all the way through the shot, like a boxer's knockout blow. Balance Is Key You don't want to fall down after impact. It looks bad and actually drains your transfer of energy.
Setup Is Key I always tee the ball well forward in my stance. This allows me to hit it with an ascending blow. No Roll Allowed Notice how my right wrist hasn't broken down in the takeaway. This is a strong position. A Wide Arc My arms are fully extended, which creates a wide arc for the club to travel along. Turn, Turn, Turn I'm not the most flexible person, but my shoulders are clearly working around my body.
Shift Your Weight A lot of players place too much weight on their front side. Here it's moved to my right leg. Go Long The club is well past parallel, but that's okay with me. This makes my swing longer and more powerful. Squatting Rights Notice how both knees are bent in a squatting position. Tiger Woods makes this same move. In Storage I've retained the angle between the shaft and my left arm well. This stores energy until I release it.
Post Up A lot of players let their front leg buckle, which is a big mistake. Here my left leg is posted up nicely. Stay Behind It You can clearly see that my head is behind where the ball was at impact. This creates leverage. Knockout Punch My right side has powered all the way through the shot, like a boxer's knockout blow. Balance Is Key You don't want to fall down after impact. It looks bad and actually drains your transfer of energy.
Sean The Beast Fister A lot of players get too mechanical with their golf swing and forget what it's like to feel athletic. My best tips for power revolve around motions that everybody knows—hitting a baseball and skipping a rock across the water. When you do either activity, you naturally keep your head back and let the motion's rotational force pull your body into a nice balanced finish position.
Steve The Predator Monroe My key for power is maintaining good balance throughout the swing. One of the most common power leaks I see is when players slide around during the swing or fall back or forward after impact. The next time you go to the range, try making some practice swings at less than full speed, while trying to keep both feet firmly connected to the ground. This is the balance I like to feel when I hit balls, and it definitely allows me to make better contact and hit the ball longer. Remember to keep both feet firmly connected to the ground, and you'll crush it.
Kevin Bullard I think most golfers don't create as much clubhead speed and power as they can because they don't know how to use their lower body in the swing. Instead, most weekend players try to create power almost entirely with upper-body strength, which isn't an athletic or efficient way to transfer energy. I concentrate on feeling my legs are flexed and ready to move, particularly during the setup. I never want my knees to feel like they're locked. Then I let the movement of my lower body pull my hands and arms all the way through impact.
Mike Moulton One of the biggest mistakes any golfer can make is to let his arms collapse during the swing. I see this happen to a lot of players in the backswing, and all it does is limit the size of the swing arc and minimize potential power. My main thought during the golf swing is to fully extend my arms on both sides of the swing (that is, at the top and in the followthrough). Try this, and you'll quickly gain yards.
Brent Kearney I have three main keys for maximum power, the first of which is to finish my backswing and not rush into the transition. Once I've finished the backswing, I load up the shaft and then try to drive into my front leg through impact. This move speeds up the clubhead and adds power. Finally, I make sure I finish with my body weight moving forward. Don't let yourself fall back!
Gerry James I'm a professional golf instructor, and with my students I always stress the importance of grip, stance, alignment and posture. One big fundamental mistake I often see is square or even closed shoulder alignment at setup, which hinders rotation and power. Personally, I like to set my shoulders about 30-degrees open at address. Once my setup is solid, all I think about is turning back and through freely.
Brian Pavlet I see a lot of players who shift their weight to their front leg in the backswing while trying to keep their head down. This is a reverse pivot, and it's one of the worst power killers (and causes of slicing) around. My advice is to forget the old adage about keeping your head down, instead allow it to move away from the ball in the backswing. Keep your head and eyes up and simply turn your weight to your right side in the backswing.
Janos Uotila When you watch the Re/Max LDA Championship or a PGA Tour event on TV, you probably notice how smooth and relatively effortless the players look when they're hitting shots. However, when you play with other recreational golfers, they probably don't look that way at all. The reason is that good, powerful players know that in order to swing fast on the downswing they need to be slow and smooth on the backswing. Try staying relaxed in the backswing the next time you play.
Adam Stacey Casting is a huge reason why so many players don't hit the ball with as much power as they would like. This means they're throwing the club from the top of the swing, resulting in an early release and a huge loss of power. I try to do the opposite by concentrating on delivering the clubhead with a very late hit. Look how deep into the downswing I am with my wrists still cocked. This is how you store tons of power!
Fred Groth I try to keep my technique pretty simple. Sort of like John Daly, I basically just think grip it and rip it. However, there are some things you can do to maximize your distance without really working on your swing. First, I highly recommend going out and getting some extra long tees, at least 31__ã4-inches in length. You might even want to try 4-inch tees. Once you get the tees, be sure to play the ball well forward in your stance. It works for me.
Nyle Pruitt Obviously, a lot of the guys who compete in the Re/Max Long Drive Championship are pretty big and muscular, but you don't necessarily have to be huge to develop more power in your game. You can see I'm holding a six-pound medicine ball and practicing my core rotation in both directions (backswing and forwardswing). Try doing this very simple drill (you can use a lighter ball) for six consecutive weeks, and I guarantee you'll hit the ball longer.
Patrick Andersson I'm not actually a professional player, but I won the European long drive championship with a very simple philosophy. Basically, I try to get set up in a comfortable, balanced stance and then reach a solid position at the top of the backswing. Once I make the transition from backswing to downswing, all I think about is hitting the ball as hard as I possibly can. You can see that I've basically left my feet after impact, which shows just how hard I'm swinging. If you want increased distance, don't hold back.
In this illustration, you can see that I'm standing in the middle of railroad tracks. Well, I'm not really standing on the tracks; I'm using the image to help aim and align myself to my target. Picturing the tracks' parallel lines helps me identify my primary target (and intermediate target) and keep my body lines parallel to one another._Ê All too oftenI see golfers address the ball with contradictory body lines (their feet aim to the right, but their shoulders aim to the left, for example). Not only do these crossed linesminimize a golfer's chance of making solid contact, but they force him or her to make awkward adjustments inthe swing just to get the club on path. Notice how my feet, knees, hips, shoulders and clubhead are all parallel to the tracks. That's how you want them (unless you're purposefully trying to cut or draw a shot). The next time you play, bring this railroad tracks image with you. Set up parallel to your target line and swing away.